EcoCheetah - 4B Coral Bleaching

Coral Reefs

Description of Ecosystem

For our project we researched the very bright and stunning coral reefs. Now what makes the coral reef the lively place it is today? Throughout the duration of this paragraph we will explore this magnificent place. We’ll start off by describing the abiotic aspects of the reefs. Generally speaking, reefs are in shallow water. Now why is this? Well, the algae in the water needs sunlight in order to create energy through the process of Cellular Respiration. Which, in turn, gives the consumers of algae energy when the algae is consumed. Moving on to the temperature. The temperature of the air above the coral reef affects the reef below it as the air outside either warms or cools the water. ‘Climate Change’ means drastic changes in our weather, which in turn create radical, and perhaps even ruinous consequences to out Earth’s reefs. So how are the reefs affected by the change known as ‘Climate Change’. In Australia in 2005, the temperature was 1.1°C warmer than usual. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change envisage that the average international temperature will rise an astonishing 1.4 to 5.8°C by 2100—roughly .064°C every year! As of March 26, 2010 the current coral bleaching status is LOW. Directly following the temperature that warm/cools the reefs comes the water which the air warm/cools. Coral reefs, as briefly mentioned above are generally located in shallow water, because the algae—which, is essentially the root of the coral reefs’ food web (apart from the Sun)— in the reefs require the Sun’s light to survive. The reef’s water is salty water as their located on the coastlines. One of the most renown reefs, The Great Barrier Reef, receives runoff from 38 major catchments. Generally speaking, there are no landforms as such in a Reef. Next we’ll move to the organisms of the coral reefs—specifically the plants. The sea grasses are the root of the existence of life in the coral reef. One of the most popular types of sea grass is seaweed. We humans use seaweed because they contain compounds useful to humans. These compounds can be found in ice cream, instant puddings, salad dressing, printers ink, cosmetics, in pharmaceuticals and to coat pills. Seaweed is grazed by herbivores. Sun gives energy to marine algae, which transfers energy to coral. Here are a couple examples of food web that include the plants of the Coral Reefs.

Sun -> Marine Algae -> Coral -> Parrotfish & Butterflyfish
Sea grasses -> Dugong & Sea Turtles
Lastly, we have the animals of the coral reefs. In the coral reef there are over 400 types of birds (including 30 types of seabirds), thirty species of whale, dolphin, and porpoises live on or visit the Great Barrier Reef waters. There are roughly 14 species of sea snakes, fifteen hundred species of fish, five thousand species of mollusks, and 400 types of coral live on the Great Barrier Reef. Six out of every seven of sea turtles in the world are found on the Great Barrier Reef some of which include the Green, Leatherback, Hawksbill, Loggerhead, Flatback and Olive Ridley turtles.

Importance of Coral Reefs

Coral reefs are very important for many plants and animals. Reefs offer many places for fish to hide in, and many small tropical fish are found in these reefs as a result. The reefs provide protection and shelter for many different species of fish, and without coral reefs, the fish are left homeless with nowhere to live and to reproduce. Coral reefs protect shorelines- like a barrier- from a variety of different weather forces- such as strong storm waves, hurricanes, and tsunamis- because they provide a natural shield against ocean waves.

Coral reefs are also very important in terms of ocean water. Coral polyp turns carbon dioxide in the water into a limestone shell. Without coral, the amount of coral would dramatically rise, affecting all living things on earth. The reefs also help fisheries. Coral also provide food for the rest of the reef habitat like fish which are then harvested by humans. The fisheries that harvest the fish include commercial, recreational, and subsistence fisheries. These reef fish and mollusks feed between thirty and forty million people every year. We can learn a lot about living creature just from coral reefs because they are a habitat to thousands of species. Research on reef organisms have provided insight into human reproductive cycles, potential cures for cancer, the large-scale cycling of carbon dioxide which may control climate change, and many others. These reefs are important to tourism in tropical areas because the skeletons of corals, other animals, and plants are the providers of sediments that make up beaches. They also attract tourists because of their beauty, and people do recreational activities such as scuba diving. Coral reefs are worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually and contribute to local economies. They also make beautiful pets and the money make by catching and selling these animals provide many people with an income so that they can feed their families. Tourism also adds to the economic value. Coral reefs have many reasons of importance, and these reefs need to be around for many reasons. Without coral reefs, we’ll lose jobs, food, plants and animals, research ideas, recreational activities, and economies won’t continue to grow. There will be more carbon dioxide in the water, which could kill a lot of fish because they rely on the oxygen in the water.

Threats to Coral Reefs

There are many daily threats that directly affect the Coral Reefs. Some of the major threats include; human contact, cyanide fishing, runoff water, sewage, fertilizers/pollution, and blast fishing. Throughout the duration of this paragraph we will go into more detail on every one of these threats. Firstly, is human contact. Human contact is essentially, as the word suggests is when humans directly interact with the reefs. An example of this is when one goes scuba diving and touching the coral ever so slightly which can harm them, eventually killing them over time. In addition to this, is when a boat drops their anchor in the ocean as it can cause severe damage to the coral reefs. Another human caused threat is cyanide fishing. Cyanide fishing is the act of fishermen stunning the reef’s fish by squirting cyanide—a very toxic chemical—into areas in the reefs where the fish use as a sanctuary. Cyanide doesn’t kill the fish, but instead—as mention previous—simply stuns the fish. The fishermen then rip apart the poor, helpless reefs with crowbars in order to capture the now stunned fish. In addition to this, the cyanide also kills coral polyps, algae, and other small organisms that are an essential part to the reefs survival. Cyanide fishing is most common in the South Pacific and Southeast Asia. Runoff water can also pose as a significant threat to the ecosystem. How? Well, the silt from the eroded soil can block the sunlight, thus stopping the process of photosynthesis, killing the reef over time. It doesn’t necessarily have to be runoff water it could also be oil. The oil’s slimy, black, flimsy layer covers the water. This, in turn blocks sunlight from entering the reef, which is very important for the algae—a very important element in the creation of energy. The algae are a very important food source for most of the resident in the coral reefs. Which brings me to my next topic of destruction—sewage. Improperly treated sewage promotes the growth of algae, which in turn, proves to very disastrous to the reefs. Fertilizers, pesticides, and other dangerous chemicals can prove to be dastardly to the reefs, as they harm the reef by polluting. Lastly, is the issue of blast fishing. Blast fishing is essentially when fishermen fish by blasting shockwaves that destroy the coral. All of these threats help contribute to coral bleaching, which everyone would like to avoid.

Biotic Factors

Producers
- Plankton
- Phytoplankton
- Sea Grass
- Zooplankton
Primary Consumer
- Coral Polyps
- Dwarf Minke Whales
- Fish Fry
- Turtles
- Krill
- Seasnakes
- Dugong
Secondary Consumer
- Butterfly-fish
- Parrot-fish
- Squid
- Crustaceans
Tertiary Consumer
- Barracuda
- Box Jellyfish
- Silver Porgies
Decomposers
- Bacteria

Abiotic Factors

Sunlight
- Reefs are in shallow water as the algae in the water needs sunlight in order to create energy. This, in turn, gives the consumers of algae energy.
Temperature/Climate
- The temperature of the air above the coral reef affects the reef below it as the air outside either warms or cools the water. ‘Climate Change’ means drastic changes in our weather, which in turn create drastic, possibly even catastrophic result to the world’ coral reefs.
  - As of March 26, 2010 the current coral bleaching status is low
  - Climate Change
    - Since the beginning of the beginning of the last century by 0.6°C on average worldwide.
    - In Australia in 2005, the temperature was 1.1°C warmer than usual
    - The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predict that the average global temperature will rise an astounding 1.4 to 5.8°C by 2100—roughly .064°C every year!
Water
- Coral reefs are generally located in shallow water as because the algae in the reefs require light to survive.
- Salt water.
- In a ocean.
- The Great Barrier Reef receives the runoff from 38 major catchments.
Landforms
- None applicable.

Conservation Plan for Coral Reefs

As is commonly known, our coral reefs are in danger of becoming extinct. After researching the threats to this ecosystem- which contribute to coral bleaching- we came up with a conservation plan to preserve the coral reefs for future generations.

First of all, people should have to have a license if they wish to swim near coral reefs. This will deter people from going near and touching the reefs. This license will cost money and time to obtain, and therefore it will be harder for people to harm the reefs. Boats should also not be allowed to dock within 100 feet of a coral reef, because their anchors damage the reefs.

Also finishing with chemicals should be outlawed. Although it makes it easier to catch them since the fish can’t hide, it’s dangerous to the reefs. Cyanide is a chemical which fishermen dump into the water to stun fish so that they can capture them. However, this chemical damages the reefs. It’s also harmful for the fish because, since it’s easier to capture many fish, could decrease the population of this fish, messing up the entire ecosystem. Another type of fishing that is harmful and could be harmful is blast fishing, which is when fisherman send shock waves through the water that stun fish but also kill coral reefs. Although we know that fishermen depend on these reefs for an income, they really should find a safer way of fishing. Think about it this way: would you rather take the “easier” way to capture fish, or would you rather take the “harder” way (by not using chemicals/blast fishing to fish, which then gives fish the upper hand since they can run and hide) and not end up killing your income? Cyanide and blast fishing can damage the reefs, thus damaging homes to the fish these fishermen fish for an income, which ends up taking away their income. So technically in the long run, these fishermen are killing their source of income.

Various forms of pollution can damage coral reefs. To prevent oil spills the whole entire world should create a plan of action in case of an oil spill. Each oil rig could have some sort of alert system, with which people on the rig could alert government officials in the case of an oil spill. The spill on the rig could then be plugged before the rig sank. After plugging the leak, there wouldn’t be much remaining oil in the water (since action was taken immediately) and the oil remaining could be set on fire and obliterated. There could also be fines for companies that dump their sewage into the oceans. Sewage causes algae to grow, and an abundance of algae (although coral eats algae, too much isn’t good) damages the reefs. When heavy metals from pollution enter the coral reefs, it kills the coral.
Global Warming is also harming the coral reefs. When the earth heats up, the heat causes water to evaporate. This leaves coral above the water where it will soon parish. A simple way to solve global warming is to be more conservative with our use of natural gasses and other things that have been proven to cause Global Warming. This would mean attempting to use your car less, and ride bikes or walk as much as possible. We need to control global warming to help the coral reefs because the coral helps control the amount of carbon dioxide in the oceans. Without coral reefs, the amount of carbon dioxide in oceans would grow quite rapidly, which isn’t good for sea creatures, because they breathe in the oxygen in the water.

Food Web

Key
- Producers-blue
- Primary Consumer-purple
- Secondary Consumer-green
- Tertiary Consumer-orange
- Decomposer-red

Bibliography